Instant Favorite.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

I actually enjoyed this old-school suspense thriller. Better than most, not as good as some -- but all in all a good rental when HBO, "Skinemax" and Showtime are running re-runs! Dennis Hopper is his normal, crazy self and many 70's stars appear.

Held For Ransom starring Zachery Ty Bryan, Jordan Brower, and Randy Spelling, among others is set in the swamps of Florida. It centers around five high school students whose school bus is hijacked on the way home when they are the last of the passengers. The five teenagers taken off the bus, tied up, and taken deep into the swamps to a small house where they are to be held hostage. The kidnappers take an instant disliking to their male hostages. While the girls are untied, the three boys have their hands tied behind their backs the entire movie. The boys spend more than a few scenes locked in a small, hot shed. Bryan is even threatened with an alligator. The film has a basically good story. However, it is ruined by frequent use of foul language.

If the "F" word were deleted from this film, there would be no dialog. Actually, it's a "B" movie, which shows how far Dennis Hopper has fallen. Of all the films that Hopper has made with twenty-somethings and teens, this one is incredibly weak.There is no plot and the storyline is hopeless. There is a minimal twist at the end, but it appears to be so ridiculously inconsequential that it lacks any true meaning.Hopper plays a character that is supposed to be brutal, but even that element is watered-down. No sex, no nudity, and violence in this film amounts to Hopper slapping around the oldest kid from "Home Improvement."A dud? You betcha. Suspense? Not even.

I picked this one up from Blockbuster last week. This was a straight to video release, which usually puts up some red flags. It was actually quite good for the budget. There were several past stars in this movie, Morgan Fairchild, Joan Van Ark, The oldest Son from Home Improvement and Dennis Hopper. I would recommend this for a rental but not necessarily one to buy.